Inseam shoe sewing machine



May- 14, 1940- v. J. TETRAULT 2.200.402

INSEAM SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed Dec. 20, 1938 Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES INSEAM SHOE SEWING MACHINE Victor J. Tetrault, Nashua, N. IL, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of Jersey Application December 20, 1938, Serial No. 246,866

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to inseam shoe sewing machines, -and more particularly to an improved cutting and holding device for use in such machines to sever the thread at the completion of a seam and to hold. the end of the thread during the formation of the first stitch ofa new seam.

The stitch forming devices of inseam shoe sewing machines comprise, in addition to-the other 10 thread handling devices, a curved hook needle and a looper for laying the thread in the hook of theneedle. ,In starting a new seam, it is necessary, in order to cause the needle to be properly looped, to hold the end of the thread during the movement of the looper about the needle andduring at least the first retracting stroke of the needle. This may be done by the operator, but in most commercial machines now in use, a thread holding device is provided for this purpose. Thread holding devices which are now commonly used, however, are open to the objection that they hold the end of the thread at such a distance from the sewing point that an objectionably long thread end is left projecting from the shoe at the beginning of the seam. Also, by reason of the fact that these devices retain their grip on the thread until the thread is pulled free by the feed of the shoe, they interfere to some extent with the proper formation of the first stitches of the seam and with the manipulation of the shoe by the operator.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and eflicient thread holding device which willenable the seam to be started with an extremely short end only of the thread projecting from the shoe and which will enable this result to be accomplished without adding to the machine special or additional mechanism for actuating the jaws of the thread holding devices.

With the above object in' view, the present invention contemplates the provision in aninseam shoe sewing machine, the stitch forming devices of which include a curved hook needle and a looper, of a thread holder for the severed end of the thread comprising gripping jaws which are mounted so as to be moved under the pull exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices in forming the first stitch from a position remote from the sewing point to' a position close to the sewing point and which are adapted to permit the thread to be withdrawn from the gripping jaws during the retracting stroke of the needle.

A well-known type of inseam shoe sewing ma- New chine is provided with thread handling devices constructed and arranged to form a chainstitch and these thread handling devices, in addition to a curved hook needle and a looper, include a take-up which acts during the formation of 6. each stitch and while the needle is through the work to pull the thread tight around the-needle. In applying thread cutting and holding devices to a machine of this type, a feature of the present invention contemplates supporting, con- 10' structing and arranging the gripping jaws of the thread holding device so that the jaws are moved close to the sewing point under the pull on the thread exerted by the take-up and the thread is withdrawn from the jaws under the 15 pull exerted on the thread by the retracting movement of the needle.

In applying a thread holding device embodying the present'invention to an inseam shoe sewing machine, it is preferred to so mount the 20 thread gripping jaws in the machine that the jaws move under the pull exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices to a position in which the jaws are close to the sewing point at the opposite side of the seam from the needle. 25 A construction in which the thread gripping jaws of the thread holding device are mounted in this manner is considered to constitute a feature of the invention, regardless of the manner in which the thread is finally withdrawn from the jaws. 30

Preferably the gripping jaws of the thread holding device are provided with outwardly fiaring surfaces forming a throat to receive the thread and the jaws are so mounted in the machine that when they are moved under the pull 35 exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices to a position in which the jaws are close to the sewing point, the throat willbe directed towards the sewing point, in which position the jaws will permit the thread to be readily with- 40 drawn. A thread holding device having gripping jaws constructed and arranged to operate in this .manner is also considered to be a feature of the present invention.

In addition to the features above mentioned, 5 the present invention also consists in certain devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, taken 50 in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a portion of an inseam shoe sewing machine with thread cutting and holding devices embodying the present invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of the thread holding and cutting devices with their supporting bracket removed from the machine; Fig. 3 is a front end view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2; and Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detail views illustrating somewhat diagrammatically the operation of the thread holding devices during the first cycle of operations of the thread handling devices of the machine in starting a seam.

The inseam shoe sewing machine illustrated in Fig. l is fully disclosed in the patent to MOl'iill No. 1,971,575 dated August 28, 1934 to which reference may be had for a detailed description of the construction, arrangement and mode of operation of its various parts. In said figure, the curved hook needle of the machine is indicated at 2, the awl at 4, the looper at 6, the channel guide at 8, the thread finger at 10, the welt guide at l2, the back rest at [4, the take-up at It, and the tension wheel at l8. The thread handling devices of this machine are arranged to operate as is usual in chainstitch inseam shoe sewing machines at present in commercial use. the curved needle entering the work from the welt side of the shoe and emerging from the sewing rib of the insole, the take-up acting while the needle is through the work to draw the last needle loop tight around the shank of the needle,

the looper and thread finger coacting to draw out a bight of thread between the needle and the work and loop the thread around the hook of the needle, and the needle, during its retracting stroke, drawing a loop of thread through the work and through the preceding needle loop.

The position of the parts when the machine is at rest is illustrated in Fig. 1, the needle being in retracted position and the take-up near the limit of its downward stroke. In starting a new seam the needle first advances through the work, the take-up immediately rises, and the looper is moved about the projecting end of the needle. To cause the needle to be properly looped during the first cycle of movements of the thread handling devices, it is necessary to hold the free end of the thread during the action of the takeup and looper. The thread holding device illustrated in the drawing as embodying the several features of the present invention comprises thread gripping jaws 20 and 22 in the form of platesprovided with flaring ends forming a throat to receive the thread. These plates are secured to a supporting block 24 by means of a clamp 26 and clamping bolts 28 passing through the clamp into the block. Also secured to the block 24 at the opposite end of the block from the thread receiving throat of the gripping jaws is a thread cutting blade 30 which is clamped between the heads of the bolts 28 and the clamp 26.

The supporting block 24 is mounted in the machine in such a position with relation to the sewing point that at the completion of'the sewing operation on a shoe, the shoe, as it is removed from the machine, can readily be moved in a path so as to place the thread leading from the supply in the throat of the jaws 20 and 22 and bring the thread leading to the shoe against the cutting blade 30.

As has been stated, the present invention contemplates mounting the thread gripping jaws in the machine so as to be capable of a movement under a pull on the thread to a position close to the sewing point. To this end, in the construction illustrated, the block 24 is rotatably mounted by means of a bearing stud 32 projecting rearwardly from the block, in a bracket 34 which is secured on the front portion of the machine frame above and to the left of the sewing point, as viewed from' the front of the machine. The bracket 34 is so located on the machine frame, and the gripper supporting block 241s so'held with relation to the bracket, that normally the block is in a substantially horizontal position with the throat of the jaws directed away from the sewing point and with the block at such a distance from the sewing point as not to interfere with the thread handling devices or with the manipulation of the shoe by the operator. To permit the jaw supporting block to be rotated under a pull exerted on the thread, it is yieldlngly held in horizontal position by means of a spring 36 surrounding the bearing portion of the bracket 34 and connected at one end to the bracket and at the other end to the block 24. The movement of the block 24 under a pull exerted on the thread is limited by a stop pin 38 projecting from the bearing stud 32 through a slot in the bracket 34, the pin and slot serving both to limit the movement of the block 24 in a direction to-carry the gripping jaws towards the sewing point, and also to limit the return movement of the block under the force -of the spring.

The gripping jaws 20 and 22 are constructed and arranged to grip the thread with sufficient force to cause the jaw supporting block to be moved under a pull exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices until the movement of the block is stopped by the pin 38 engaging the end of the slot in the bracket 34 and thereafter to permit the thread to be drawn from the jaws by the continued pull of the thread handling devices. In the construction shown, the movement of the jaw supporting block 24 brings the jaws close to the sewing point on the inside of the sewing rib of the insole or, in other words,

'on the opposite side of the rib from that which .is entered by the needle.

The jaws are thus in position to permit the thread to be drawn from the jaws. Also, in the illustrated construction, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, when the jaws are moved close to the sewing point, the throat of the jaws is directed towards the sewing point and thus withdrawal of the thread from the jaws is facilitated, the direction of the pull on the thread at this time being away from the throat of the jaws.

As the thread end is withdrawn from the gripping jaws it is pulled close to the sewing rib so that the seam is started with only a short thread end projecting from the shoe. In the construction illustrated, the thread holding and cutting device comprising the jaws 20 and 22 and the cutting blade 30 are so constructed and arranged that the thread gripping jaws are moved close to thesewing point during the first movement of the take-up and thereafter the thread end is pulled from the jaws close tothe inner surface of the sewing rib during the first retracting stroke of the needle.

The nature and scope of the present invention having been indicated, and a specific embodiment of the several features of the invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, thread handling devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a thread cutter to sever the thread at the completion of a seam, a thread holder comprising gripping jaws to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam, a support for the jaws movable with the jaws towards the sewing point under the pull exerted on; the thread by the thread handling devices, and means for causing the thread to be withdrawn from thejaws during the first retracting stroke of the needle in starting a new seam.

2. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, thread handling devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a thread cutter to sever the thread at the completion of a seam, a thread holder to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam comprising grip-' ping jaws, a support for the jaws movable with the jaws towards the sewing point under the pull exerted on the thread by the.thread handling devices, and means for limiting the movement of said support to cause the thread to be withdrawnirom the jaws during the first retractseam. a thread holder comprising gripping jaws to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam, a support for the jaws movable with the jaws towards the sewing point under the pull on the thread exerted by the take-up, and means a for causing the thread to be withdrawn from the jaws under the pull exerted on the thread by -the first retracting movement of the needle in starting a new seam.

4. A chainstitch inseamshoe sewing machine having, in combination, thread handling devices including a curved hook needle, a looper, and a take-up acting to pull the thread tight around the needle while the needle is in the work, a thread cutter to sever the thread at the completion of a seam, a thread holder to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam comprising gripping jaws, a support for the jaws movable with the jaws towards the sewing point under the pull on the thread exerted by the take-up, and means for limiting the movement of said suport to cause the thread to be withdrawn from the jaws under the pull exerted on the thread by the first retracting movement of the needle in starting a new seam.

5. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination. thread handling devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a thread cutter to sever the thread at the completion of a steam,a thread holder to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam comprising gripping jaws provided with outwardly flaring surfaces forming a throat to receive the thread, and a support for the jaws movable under the pull exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices from a position in which the jaws are remote from the sewing point to a position in which the jaws are close to the sewing point with the throat directed towards the sewing point.

6. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combinatiomthread handling devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a thread cut-' ter to sever the thread at the completion of a steam, a thread holder to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam, a pivotally mounted jaw support, gripping jaws carried by the support comprising outwardly flaring surfaces forming a throat directed away from the pivota-l axis of the support to receive the thread, said support being movable under the pull exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices from a position in which the jaws are remote from the sewing point to a position in which the jaws are close to the sewing point with the throat directed towards the sewing point.

7. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, thread handling devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a thread cutter to sever the thread at the completion of a seam.

'a thread holder to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam, a pivotally mounted jaw support, gripping jaws carried by the support comprising outwardly flaring surfaces forming a throat directed away from the pivotal axis of the support to receive the thread, a spring acting on the support to hold the support normally in a position in which the jaws are remote from the sewing point, and a stop for stopping the movement of the support under the pull exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices in a position in which the jaws are close to the sewing point.

8. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, thread handling devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a thread cutter to sever the thread at the completion of a seam, a thread holder comprising gripping jaws to hold the end of the thread in starting a new seam, a support for the jaws movable under a pull exerted on the thread by the thread handling devices from a position in which the jaws are re mote from the sewing point to a position in which the jaws are close to the sewing point at the opposite side of the seam from the needle.

VICTOR J. T-ETRAULT.

i I CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2, zoo,no2. May 1h, 19m.- vIcr R J. I'ETRAULT.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, first column, line 55, and second column, line 15, claims 5and6, respectively,

for the word "steam" read --seam--; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the rec- 0rd of the case in the Patent-Office.

Signed and sealed this 50th day of July, A; D. 191w.

I Henry Van Arsdale,

-( Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

